Captive
by penandpathways
Summary: Natasha is held hostage by an old enemy in exchange for Zola's algorithm. He orders Steve to bring it back in exchange for her life. Now the captain's faced with a difficult decision— will he save the love of his life or the 20 million people on earth?
1. zero: captive

**I found the plane scene and kidnapping plot of Mission Impossible 3 really cool.**

 **So here I am. I got inspired writing this because of how awesome those scenes were.** **This will be set somewhere during the events of CATWS. Yet there will be mentions of some events in the Avengers too.**

 **Just a different take on how I think the storyline could be if it went this way...**

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 **Captive**

 **by: penandpathways**

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 **.**

 **Secret HYDRA base**

 _Present_

.

.

.

 _Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters. I just love them._

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 _._

"Argh!"

He felt an electrifying shock radiate up his skull.

His eyes slowly drooped open, an overwhelming headache stirred his senses again. His vision circled for a few moments and was only able to make out blurry figures in front of him.

But their voices ever so distinct.

"We've put an explosive charge in your head. Does that sound familiar?"

He couldn't answer yet. Whatever they put in him or did to him must be strong enough to knock out him out.

"The algorithm. Where is it?"

Despite barely being conscious, Steve surprisingly found himself answering, "I...I gave it to you."

"Captain," The familiar voice repeated, his tone ever so deadly. "Where _is_ the algorithm?"

Steve's vision finally cleared up. The second he saw the people in front of him, he went to lunge for them - only to find that he couldn't. His eyes dropped down to the restraints holding him back. He was strapped down to a chair while bonds kept his wrists and ankles down. He tried to break free, but whatever material they used, was no match _even_ for a super soldier.

"Wait," His chest rose heavily, while his eyebrows furrowed, "What I gave you... that wasn't it? What was..." he was still light-headed.

Alexander Pierce was losing his patience.

He took out a gun and aimed it at the woman beside him.

"I'm going to count to ten." His eyes filled with fury and coldness. "And you're going to tell me where the algorithm is - or _she_ dies."

It was this time when Steve finally laid his eyes on the other person in front of him. She, like him, was also strapped down to a chair. The only difference was - she was gagged and brutally tied down. But that's not the main reason why he felt his heart pounding more than ever.

Her emerald-green eyes which were usually impassive, ruthless, and valiant, was now filled with nothing more than fear, pain, and exhaustion.

For the first time - he had seen the _Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff, his girlfriend_ \- as no more than a human, a girl who's just as terrified of death as he was.

"Natasha," He knew she was crying. And it took every bit of him to not break down too because he needed to be strong for her. Steve Rogers needed to show how much he's determined to get them out of here. "It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay, do you understand?"

His chest rose heavily, ragged breaths filling up his lungs. Natasha looked at him with tears streaming down her cheeks, she attempted to say something but the gags were blocking her words. The syringe they injected her turned out to be filled with a highly intoxicating level of sedation. She was sure they did the same to Steve, only thrice or even four times stronger.

 _"One."_ Pierce nonchalantly said, gripping the pistol with one hand.

Steve faced him, eyebrows furrowed and gaze hardened, "You listen to me." His tone was menacing, "I got exactly what you asked for. Did you want something else? If there was a misunderstanding, I will _fix_ it." When that didn't seem to do the trick, he added hesitantly, "I can get it. Whatever you want."

 _"Two."_ he continued to count.

He felt the fear doubling up. Steve pulled on his restraints with distress, "Look, we can talk. Listen, let's talk." His voice turned pleading, almost close to breaking, "But let her go. Please."

 _"Three."_

Natasha closed her eyes in agitation, despite being tied down, she felt her fingers shaking and feet getting sweaty.

"God!" Steve grunted in anger, tugging on the bonds more furiously this time. The skin of his wrists scratching against the sharp material, he was sure there were blisters forming already. "All right. All right. I know where the algorithm is. I can help you." He said in defeat.

"The way you helped me on the plane? That way?" Pierce asked warily, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm not talking to you like this." The Captain stated.

He held the gun closer to her temple. "That's your choice. _Four._ "

"The algorithm's in... Washington, D.C." Steve gritted his teeth, feeling his blood boiling at its peak. "It's in Washington, D.C. Now, let her go—"

"It's not in Washington." Pierce interjected. " _Five._ "

With every rising number, Steve just felt the increasing urge to ruin his face then and there. If only he could get out of these bonds, and to think that his shield was nowhere in sight either. "I can get it for you. But if you _kill_ her, then you get nothing." He tried to compromise, but his threatening didn't seem to work at the moment and only made Pierce more determined to do it.

 _"Six."_

"Are you listening to me!?" he belted out in anger. "The only way you're going to get what you want is for you to—"

 ** _Bang!_**

Steve's eyes widened panic as the bullet went straight through Natasha's thigh. Even through the gag, she whimpered in pain. He heard her cry. It sent him into a state of panic and rage. "You son of a bitch!"

"Do you think I'm playing, Rogers?!" Pierce yelled, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the pistol tighter than before. "You don't think I'll do this? You don't think I'll have the privilege to kill Romanoff in front of you?"

"I'm going to kill you—"

"Where is it?" he cut him off, his pupils dilating in annoyance, "Where the _hell_ is it?!"

"Look at me," The captain ignored Pierce and focused on Natasha. He had never seen her so broken and helpless before. The guilt was eating up his gut. This was his fault. If he had just got there sooner... this wouldn't be happening at all.

Steve's face was becoming red and his eyes were also glistening with tears. His voice becoming less firm and commanding than he usually is. "Stay with me, Nat. Just stay with me."

She responded with a muffled sob. Her eyes screaming nothing but agony.

" _Seven!"_ Pierce shouted, grabbing his attention again. _"Seven!"_

"I'm going to kill you." Steve threatened, his fists clenching as he struggled out of the bonds. "I _swear_ to God I'm going to kill you!"

He was unnerved by the captain's threat. _"Eight!"_

Steve shook his head, desperation was evident in his tone. His voice was laced with torment as his blue-eyes seemed to lost hope. "No, please. Please. Don't do this— just let her go. Just let her go. I promise you— I _promise_ you. I can figure out whatever—"

 _"Nine!"_

"Listen to me— _listen to me_. I can help you. I want to help you. I want to help you get whatever you want." Steve wasn't thinking clearly anymore. He knew it was not in his morals to betray the country just for his sake, but this time— it wasn't just his own. It was his girlfriend's life hanging by a thread. He couldn't risk losing her now. He looked Pierce in the eye, "But you got to do what's right. You _know_ what's right."

Pierce continued to stare at him with an unfazed look. He kept his gun pointed at Natasha's temple. When they both noticed he wasn't making a move to drop it down, Steve knew what he was planning to do— "No." he pleaded, shaking his head. "No. No."

Natasha looked at him one last time before closing her eyes, weeping ever so softly.

"Pierce, don't. Please. I'm begging you." Steve cried out, his voice barely above a whisper. "Let her go."

 _"Ten."_

"Don't!"

 _ **Bang!**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

Steve Rogers felt his heart stop then and there.

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 **So, there would be three parts of this. I'll probably have the next two chapters published in the following days!**

 **Reviews please?**


	2. one: truth

**okaaaay, here's chapter one!**

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 **Captive**

 **by: _penandpathways_**

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 **.**

 **Triskelion**

 _96 hours earlier..._

.

"You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?" Steve couldn't help but snap at him while walking in his office.

Director Fury was leaning back casually in his seat. "I didn't lie. Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours."

"Which you didn't feel obliged to share." he retorted, stopping in front of his desk.

"I'm not obliged to do anything."

Steve looked at him in annoyance, his eyebrows furrowed together, "Those hostages could have died, Nick."

"I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen." Fury pointed out.

"Soldiers trust each other. That's what makes it an army. Not a bunch of guys running around shooting guns." Steve chastised.

Fury slowly stood up, his hands rested on his desk, saying exasperatedly, "Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye."

Steve kept quiet.

"Look," The director started in a softer tone, "I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with _everything_."

"I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own." Steve argued.

"It's called compartmentalization." he reasoned, cocking an eyebrow at him, "Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all."

Steve gave a sardonic smile, pointing at Fury's chest, "Except you."

Fury looked taken aback but he didn't let his guard down. "You're wrong about me." He retorted. "I _do_ share. I'm nice like that."

"Care to tell me one?" Steve crossed his arms.

"Well, first off—" he sighed, leaning forward to prop his elbows on his desk, "I know about you and Romanoff."

"What?" shock was evident in his tone.

"You didn't think I would notice?"

"Since when?"

"Since the day I caught her batting her eyelashes at you when I gave your team the mission."

"You mean when you gave me _my_ mission, and Natasha, _her_ mission." he corrected quite bitterly.

Fury looked at him exasperatedly, "Look, I'm telling you this because I care about none of you ending up as a corpse. If I know about you two— then it wouldn't be long enough for the others to find out."

"And that's why I'm asking you to keep it as it is. Another one of your secrets."

"Captain," he stood up from his chair, "You know the reason why I'm telling you this. It isn't just about the image or both your reputations to the public's eye, but the conflict with work! Never in my part would I expect one of my deadliest spies and America's greatest hero to end up together."

Steve furrowed his eyebrows, not exactly understanding where he was getting at. "And your point is, director?"

"Make sure that your relationship's not going to get in the way once you're out there in the field." he stated.

The captain sighed, "We know. We talked about this long before we decided to be together."

"I just hope you two know what you're doing." Fury said with a hint of concern, "There are threats out there, and there are enemies. I'm sure that they'll use either one of you as their bait to lure you in. The worst, yet likely case of scenario, is them using her to get to you."

"They can't touch her." Steve's eyes darkened, "I'm not going to let that happen."

"I'm counting on you, Cap. Not that I don't know what she's capable of but better safe than sorry." The director remarked, "She's one of the best agents in SHIELD. We can't afford to lose her."

"Don't worry," Steve answered back, "I can protect her. I can protect the one thing I can't live without."

Fury sighed, brushing past him, "Be careful, Captain." He stopped just before the doorframe to look over his shoulder, "This is war."

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 **Yeah, this was a little bit short.**

 **But hey — it's the story that counts right?**

 **Please leave reviews!**


	3. two: fear

**I'm trying to finish this all up in one day.**

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 **Captive**

 **by: _penandpathways_**

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 **.**

 **Washington, D.C.**

 _64 hours earlier..._

.

Sitwell felt his body collide with a hard surface, tumbling across the concrete floor. He stumbled to get up and anxiously backed away from the two former SHIELD agents approaching him.

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm," Steve ordered.

"Never heard of it." he lied smoothly.

"What were you doing on the Lumerian star?" he continued to ask while taking huge steps forward at the same time he was backing up closer to the edge of the roof.

"I was throwing up. I got seasick." he reasoned, finally tripping over an elevated pavement and would've fallen over if it weren't for the Captain gripping his shirt tightly and forced him to meet his eye at his level. Sitwell, despite nervously shaking, still found the face to provoke him. "Is this little display meant to insinuate that you're gonna throw me off the roof? Because it's really not your style, Rogers."

"You're right. It's not." he released him, smoothing his suit. He nodded in Natasha's direction, "It's hers."

As quick as lightning, Steve stepped aside to let Natasha do her thing. With all the strength she has, she slammed her foot down Sitwell's gut and sent him flying over the edge. "Ahh!" he screamed.

Silence.

"You know I'm really getting tired of that girl in accounting ogling you all the time." Natasha randomly said, his eyes sparkling a hint of jealousy, "What was her name? Laura... Lisa?"

He seemed to recognize what she was referring to, "Lilian." he filled in. He gestured to his face, "The one with the... lip piercing, is that it?"

"Yeah, she's cute but you need to tell her to back off. If you don't, I would gladly say it to her face." She complained, her eyebrows knitted together.

For a second, Steve thought she looked adorable. The Black Widow looked cute when she was jealous. He decided to tease her, amusement settled on his face. "Don't tell me you're jealous?"

She responded by arching an eyebrow at him. "Does it matter if I'm jealous?"

Steve let out a soft laugh, fighting this incredible urge of wanting to take her in his arms and plant a full-on passionate kiss on her lips. He shoved his hands into his pockets, "There's no need to be. You know I only have my eyes set on you."

"Aww..." she cooed. "You're gonna make me blush, honey."

Funny thing was, Steve was the one who ended up getting flustered. Right after that, Sitwell emerged and was tossed back into the roof by Sam, who now had his Falcon suit. The couple walked towards him. Before Steve could get a word out, the agent suddenly held out a hand to stop him.

He started rambling on, "Zola's algorithm is a program."

"Program of what?" asked Steve.

"I don't know." Sitwell lied.

A crease appeared on the captain's forehead as he saw right through him, he forced him to stand up. " _What program?_ " he gritted his teeth.

"Pierce knows how it fully operates." he informed, "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola told HYDRA how to read it. Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores! Zola's algorithm evaluates people's past to predict their future."

Steve clenched his jaw. _But for what? Why does it need to know the results of their future?_ It was the only question that kept on tugging at the back of his mind.

"And what then?" he asked. "What do they do after knowing their future?"

The agent's eyes widened as if he realized his mistake. "Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me."

" _What then?_ " Steve pressed on.

He took a deep breath before answering, his face showing determination— "I can't answer that."

Steve grabbed a fistful of his shirt and brought him closer to his face. "You listen to me," his voice laced with annoyance. "I just found out that I died for nothing. So don't try playing good cop bad cop at a time like this because people are going to die. HYDRA always wants people dead just to get their way. Now— what is the program all about?"

"You're a threat to HYDRA." Sitwell insinuated, not fully answering his question. "And they will kill everyone who stands in their way. That includes you— but this time, not just you." He shifted his gaze towards the red-head standing next to him. "You too."

"Me?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

Steve instinctively stepped a foot in front of her, producing a protective stance in an attempt to shield her from the agent. "What does she have anything to do with this?" his voice was calm, yet bold.

"He knows about you. HYDRA knows about you two after that incident with Fury." Sitwell asserted, the corner of his lips turned upwards in an annoying smirk. "I must say—you sure do have a strange taste in women, Rogers."

His statement ticked the captain off from the way his shoulders stiffened. Natasha sensed this and gently placed her hand on Steve's arm, stopping him from grabbing the poor guy. Unlike him, she was used to comments like these all the time.

"And what's HYDRA's next move now?" asked Natasha.

Sitwell faced her, "You're the target to crush Rogers' soul. HYDRA will use you as a bait for him. You can't run or hide from them because no matter what you do— they will find you and they will catch you."

Natasha felt her breath hitched in her throat. This must be the threats and consequences she and Steve talked about before deciding to pursue their relationship. Maybe they just assumed it happening but they never really thought it would happen in the first place. Besides, who on earth would even try to squeeze themselves in their little circle? They figured there were too many problems and things that the world needs to fix rather than their own relationship.

Apparently—they were wrong.

Steve's fists clenched at the thought of it. His nostrils flared. "Let them try..."

Because there's no way in hell would Steve Rogers let them hurt Natasha Romanoff.

 _No. Way. In. Hell._

Sitwell looked at his watch, making a move to turn around. "So are we done here? Because I really have more important stuff to do—"

"You're not going anywhere." Natasha stated, crossing her arms.

"And who are you to stop me, _Mrs. Rogers?_ " Sitwell mocked.

She shot daggers at him. Pushing her nails deeper into her arms to vent out her irritation.

Sam blocked his way. A lopsided smile present on his face. Sitwell looked at him tersely, letting out an uneasy expression.

"H-hey..." he could only mutter before being thrown back again.

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 ** _reviews please? Are you following the story so far?_**


	4. three: threat

**Okay. So here's chapter three**

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.

 **Captive**

 **by: _penandpathways_**

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 **.**

 **Quinjet**

 _54 hours earlier..._

.

"You're dead, Mr. Pierce."

It took Alexander Pierce a while before the black circles invading his vision disappeared completely. He blinked rapidly, his eyes adjusting to the newfound light. He let out a wheezy cough. He found out he was tried down in a char, with two straps restraining him across the chest. The stain on his suit was still there.

Once he looked up, the first sight that greeted him was an image of a star. There were three lines coming out on the sides. He didn't need a memo to know who it was.

There was only one person on earth who wore that kind of uniform.

"There were witnesses." The captain informed him, sitting on a stool in front.

His eyes landed on the man beside them, he didn't recognize him. He was dark-skinned, had black hair, and was wearing a grey and red suit. He took out a briefcase.

Pierce gave him a sardonic smile. "Captain Rogers, why, I never took you for the kidnap for ransom type of guy." Steve didn't appreciate his humor and kept a straight face. The man in interrogation cocked his head, "That was you in the bathroom, was it?"

Steve ignored his question. "Now, you're going to tell us everything. Everything that was written and incorporated on this drive—"

"Should've known. Only Captain America can pull off a stunt like that and disappear without a trace." Pierce continued to ramble, not listening to a word he was saying.

Steve snapped his head towards Sam in disbelief. He had no idea what Pierce is trying to do. He sighed in irritation before continuing, "Is HYDRA—"

"What are you doing, Captain?" Pierce questioned, looking so calm as ever but his voice every inch terrifying.

The captain paused for a moment, letting silence dawned on them.

"I want to know what's on this drive," he demanded, his gaze hardening.

"Do you even know what you're getting into?"

"What's Project Insight?"

It was like the two was caught up in their own banter that neither of them was interested to answer the other's questions. The captain knitted his eyebrows in irritation, his jaw clenched and his blue irises crossed with agitation.

"Do you have a..." he shook his head, refusing to answer, "A wife— no, probably still not, but a girlfriend, perhaps?"

Steve stopped short.

Sam could see the captain's shoulders tensed. He felt a sweat trickle down his forehead— this wasn't looking good. He knew the captain was a terrible liar and it was a mistake to even do this interrogation in the first place. They should've let Natasha do it.

Oh shit. _Natasha._ Sam could only hope Steve would cover up his facade well enough.

Steve cocked his head, resting a hand on his thigh as he leaned forward, "It's up to you how this goes."

"Because you know what I'm going to do next?" he asked in a tone that Steve knew very well. "I'm going to find her."

You could almost see the veins on the captain's forehead struggling to pop out furiously. Meanwhile, Pierce continued to babble like it was no big deal for him. "I'm going to find her— whoever she is. And I'm going to hurt her."

"We were told by a guy, your agent, Jasper Sitwell that you were responsible for carrying all the files related to SHIELD's latest assignment. He said it was based on Zola's algorithm called Project Insight."

"I'm going to make her bleed, and cry, and call out your name. And you're not going to be able to do _shit,_ Rogers _._ You know why?"

"What is Project Insight?"

"Because you're going to be _this_ close to dead."

"And who are the people involved?"

"And then I'm going to kill you. Right in front of her."

"I'm going to ask you one more time."

"So, Captain Rogers—"

"What is Project Insight?"

"—you still think kidnapping me for ransom is such a good idea?"

"And who are the people involved?"

Pierce only as much gave him a lopsided smirk in response. One so annoying that Steve was tempted to wipe off his stupid face. "You have no idea what's going on, do you?" His eyes glinted with mischief. He knew he was already _this_ close to cracking the captain. It wouldn't take only longer for him to drop his calm facade. Pierce knew that on the inside, every blood of him was boiling hot and he means—hot.

"I mean, you saw what I did to your little red-headed friend back on the highway, right? The Winter Soldier shot her straight into the arm." he laughed menacingly, "That was nothing. Romanoff was too slow. But it was fun." Pierce looked straight into Steve's eyes, attempting to tick him off to the last straw, "Seeing her rendered useless."

Sam cursed inwardly. _Well, shit._ Immediately, his gaze landed on Steve, whom he saw was already clenching his fists in rage. He was shaking. Long gone was those pure and innocence you see in his blue eyes— it was full of nothing but hatred and vengeance right now. His face was mixed with emotions that were hard to decipher.

Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, Steve dragged Pierce over to the hatch of the quinjet. He jammed his fist straight into a red button. The lights were blaring red and the sounds were triggered.

Sam's eyes widened in realization as he caught on to what he was about to do. "Steve!"

Steve threw his chair over— making sure that he was facing the hatch first on. After a few seconds, the hatch slowly started to open. You can already see how high they were and believe them— it wasn't the height where you can jump your way out. The captain gripped the chair with one hand while the other held a knife— a sight which Sam found dangerously scary.

This was the first time he'd seen Steve hold a knife.

"What is Project Insight?!" His voice boomed across the quinjet, despite having the alarms go off.

Pierce looked like he was about to throw up once he saw the depths of the city below. His stomach churned.

When the Captain noticed he wasn't answering, he cut through one of his straps, making him jerk forward and closer to falling below. "What is it?!" Steve shouted.

"Cap, stop! Stop this!" Sam yelled, knowing that Steve was doing this purely because of his current anger. "Don't do this!"

"What is Project Insight? Tell me!" he shouted once more, cutting another strap.

"Steve!" Sam exclaimed. "Don't do it! This isn't you, Cap! This isn't you! We can use him, Steve, you know that!"

But Steve wasn't listening.

He slashed another strap. Leaving just one left to keep Pierce from falling entirely.

"No, Cap! Don't!" Sam tried one last time. Finally, Steve turned his way. Sam understood what he was feeling, really he did, but he knew that Steve tends to have his emotions get to his head when it comes to the people he loved. And since Pierce dragged Natasha into the conversation... he didn't blame Steve for getting mad. "Please, stop!"

Steve hesitated.

Then after a few seconds, thankfully, he regained his senses and closed the hatch— throwing Pierce back and making him land on his back. The captain took a seat on the floor, his breaths uneven as his jaw was still clenched. He shook his head in frustration.

 _Dammit._ He was stupid for doing that.

Pierce suddenly spoke up, snapping him out of his reverie, "What I'm doing, and what's Project Insight meant for — is the last thing you should be concerned about, _Captain._ "

Steve looked his way. He suddenly felt a shiver crawl up his spine with his usage of tone.

Little did the captain know — _Pierce was right all along._

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 ** _reviews please?_**


	5. four: life

**Note: Please notice the time written at the start of the chapter. It will help you keep track of the story since the storyline is sorta flashing back to the present then the previous events then back to the present again.**

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.

 **Captive**

 **by: _penandpathways_**

 _._

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 **.**

 **Washington, D.C., Highway**

 _60 hours earlier..._

.

"Natasha!"

Steve felt the air knocked out of his lungs when he saw the Winter Soldier tagged his girlfriend. She got shot while helping the other people evacuate the area. With the bubbling rage seeping through his clenched fists, he dashed towards the crowd of people.

Natasha took cover behind a wrecked car, trying her best to put pressure on the wound on her shoulder. She winced at the increasing pain as the red liquid dripped down her arm. She could feel it seeping through her jacket.

Just when she thought it was the end, the Winter soldier aiming the gun right at her. a red, white, and blue shield went past her. It hit him straight in the chest, knocking the Winter soldier from his stance. She felt grateful enough that Steve was there to save her the moment she couldn't defend herself.

 **. . . . .**

"It was him. He looked right at me and he didn't even know me."

"How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago." Sam insinuated.

"Zola," answered Steve. He had a crestfallen look on his face, his jaw clenched, and eyebrows knitted together. "Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on them. Whatever he did, it helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him."

Silence.

Neither of the two knew what they were going to say to help the situation.

Steve suddenly glanced at Natasha's shoulder, which was continuously bleeding. He could see the discomfort on his girlfriend's face. Suddenly, he felt ashamed and guilty for not bringing up the concern over her wound first. "I-I'm sorry, Nat. I didn't mean to—I should've just kept my mouth shut."

"It's okay, Steve," she said, snapping her eyes shut from the torment it was causing her. The look on her face did not ease Steve at all. Not one bit.

"I'm really sorry. I should've seen it coming but when I saw Bucky... I just spaced out and— I don't know what I'd do if you're not okay. I'm so sorry, Nat." he ranted on, trying to think of a way out of this.

The blood was seeping more faster than ever. Natasha stifled a whimper. She breathed out, "I-It wasn't... your fault, Steve."

"We've got to put pressure on the wound," Steve stated.

Sam suddenly raised her concern. He turned to the guard beside him, "We need to get a doctor here. We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck."

In a blink of an eye, the guard suddenly pulled out an electric rod. Sam flinched, preparing himself for what was about to happen when the guard suddenly neutralizes the one beside and knocked him out. The three stared at the scene in shock and waited until the guard removed his helmet and revealed itself to be none other than Maria Hill.

"That thing was squeezing my brain." she blurted out, her eyes landing on Sam. She looked at the captain with confusion, "Who's he?"

"Sam Wilson. Who are you?" Sam asked, warily.

"Maria Hill." she answered, glancing at the nasty wound of Natasha's. She grimaced, "That doesn't look good."

"Yeah, no shit, Maria." Natasha snapped. Feeling unapologetic right now because of the agony she was feeling.

"Can you help her?" Steve asked, his blue orbs filled with nothing but concern and worry.

Maria nodded, "But we gotta be quick."

 **. . . . .**

"Natasha, Natasha," Steve was careful not to touch her bullet wound and gently shook her other shoulder to wake her up. She stirred her head, confusion written all over her face. She didn't even notice she lost consciousness. "We're here, sweetheart." he whispered.

"Did I fall asleep?" she asked quietly.

Steve shook his head, "No, but you were barely awake." He crouched down to her level, "We're going to get you treated but you have to help me." Only a groan was her response. Slowly, Steve took wrapped an arm around her waist, positioning himself to help her. He murmured, "You have to stand, Nat."

And so she did. Letting herself be in her Captain's care.

 **. . . . .**

"You're not going."

"What?"

"You're not going—"

"I heard what you said." Natasha cut him off, annoyance was evident in her features. "Why can't I go? I can handle myself. My wound's healing up now."

Steve raised an eyebrow, "The way you handled yourself on the highway?"

Natasha narrowed her eyes at him. Stepping closer as if she wasn't afraid to back away. "I am going. Whether you like it or not."

"You are not safe with me." said Steve, his eyes looking concerned.

"But I don't want to be safe, I want to be with you. I want to help you." she argued.

He shook his head. "I still want you to leave, Nat. This is war." he added, sighing, "I have to fight and face them alone."

"I know its a war." Natasha asserted, reaching out to grab his hand, "And we're going through it together. One way or another. It's us against the world. We made that promise remember?"

"Yes, and I also made the promise of keeping you safe but look what happened?" His hand squeezed her's tight, his face darkening at the reminder of failing to protect her.

"You know me long enough before we got together, Steve." Natasha said, placing a hand on his cheek. "You know that I can take care of myself. I'm not afraid, Steve. I did this because I love you, and I want to be with you."

"I know." Steve took a deep breath, reaching out to touch her soft hand. "But you almost died because of me. I can't forgive myself for that."

"No one's blaming you for it, Steve." Natasha reasoned, this close to being frustrated that Steve refused to believe her words. That she was alright now.

Steve looked her straight in the eye, "I love you. And I want you safe. You're not going and that's final."

Before she could say a word in it— Steve walked out of the room. Natasha tried to call out to him, "Steve! Steve!" Her face reeked of vexation. She scoffed. She wasn't a little girl.

She didn't want to feel useless. She understands that Steve only want her to be safe but he didn't need to be so protective of her.

Was it the threat of HYDRA knowing about them already?

Was he afraid that they were going to use her against him?

 **. . . . .**

Fury looked at Steve blankly. "What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to take Nat away from here. I have to go after them, Nick, but this is my battle now. I need to find out what's going on." Steve paused, before heaving a sigh, "I can't let them hurt her anymore. They want me, not her."

"It could kill you, Steve." Fury reminded, looking at him with concern, "You know what HYDRA's capable of. What Pierce is capable of."

Steve knew that the director was referring to Bucky.

His eyebrows furrowed, looking down at his clenched fists, "I'm not going to die."

A picture of a beautiful red-head with striking green eyes suddenly flashed across his mind.

It brought a look of determination to his face as he looked up at the director.

"Because I have someone to live for."

* * *

 **Okay, so this chapter happened before the quinjet scene.**

 **Just take note of the time written at the beginning of every chapter.**


	6. five: compromise

**So have you guys seen the new Infinity war trailer? It's freaking awesome! I shed tears after watching the trailer and holy shit bearded Steve Rogers just made my ovaries explode into a million pieces.**

* * *

.

 **Captive**

 **by: _penandpathways_**

 _._

* * *

 **.**

 **Bridge**

 _50 hours earlier..._

.

The car ride was filled with silence. Steve hadn't said a word since they got off from the quinjet and Sam was beginning to worry. Even if the blonde did not want to admit it, Sam knew that Pierce's words made a huge effect on the captain—particularly the one involving his girlfriend.

A wave of uneasiness washed past him as Steve continued to stare at the dashboard. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were filled with rage and hatred. It was a good thing Alexander Pierce was in the other compartment of the truck or else he would sure the captain would lose it. It took him a great deal of force to try and hold him back from struggling the man.

"Cap," Sam said quietly, careful not to take his eyes off the road.

No answer.

"You've been quiet for a while now." he added.

Steve took a deep breath. "I've got a lot on my mind that's all." he answered, his tone as dismissive as possible.

"So, what do we do with Pierce?" Sam asked, anticipating their next move.

It had been extremely difficult for them to kidnap the SHIELD director but they both managed to get it done. But they made it seem like it was a scene of a murder, so how were they going to return this person being fully alive? Surely it would cause some suspicions to arise with people, especially on their part.

What was Steve planning to do?

"Return him and expose the truth." Steve answered simply.

"And by exposing the truth, you mean...?"

The captain sighed, "I mean exposing the truth about everything. About him being a director of not just SHIELD but HYDRA as well. Tell the people what they deserve to know. HYDRA grew under their noses without them seeing it."

Sam paused, pondering for a moment. "But it would mean the murder set-up we created would come out as fake. The blame would most likely be pointed to us, you know."

Steve nodded. "Exactly. We're only after the truth, the set-up was merely an act to find it."

A clever move for HYDRA to create a newfound organization by hiding in the shadows of SHIELD. The fact that the captain found out his sacrifice of giving up his own life by going down in the ice meant nothing at all—that's what angered him. How could life be so cruel to him? They won the war... but for what? What's the point of winning from the start when they were all just going to lose in the end?

"But what about Natasha?" asked Sam.

The blonde stiffened but nevertheless asked. "What about her?"

"If we're going to expose all of SHIELD's lies... won't that..." he trailed off, not knowing exactly how to finish his statement.

Yet Steve knew all too well what he was wanting to say. He thought about it for a while too. He knew that exposing everything would require literally everything. It would all of SHIELD's dirty records, data, and files would go out in the open. All would be a sight for the world to see. How everything about them was lies.

But since Natasha Romanoff was an agent of SHIELD, exposing everything would mean exposing _her_ too. The world would see the spy for who she really is.

"I know." Steve had a huge respect for people's privacy. And he deeply cared about Natasha's privacy too. That was why he couldn't exactly pry her about something when she wasn't keen on sharing it with him. It would hurt, yes, but he figured that once the time comes she's ready to open up to him—she'll tell him. It was all about respect and patience. That was what made him gain Natasha's trust in the end, and eventually, gain her heart.

So once the thought crossed his mind about this, about the possible expositions about herself, he confronted her immediately. Before he went on this mission, he already a hunch that something like this was going to happen the minute he found out SHIELD had been HYDRA all along.

* * *

 _Steve glanced at the redhead from the mirror. Her face held a look of worry and anxiety. Her emerald-green orbs were confused and disturbed. She seemed rather bothered than usual._

 _After drying his hands in the towel, he took the chance to ask her about it. "You okay?"_

 _"Yeah." she answered, slightly startled._

 _He immediately sensed something off about her tone. He could tell she was lying. There was something she wasn't telling him about. Steve knew better than to force her into telling him about things she preferred to keep to herself, but this was going way too far. He was only concerned about her and wanted to know he was here for her._

 _If she really did trust him, then she would tell him what was bothering her so much._

 _Steve took a seat on the bed situated across. He looked at her. "What's going on?"_

 _Natasha hesitated to answer.  
_

 _"You know you can tell me." he assured, reaching out to take her hand in his._

 _The redhead sighed, "I know I just..." she struggled to answer, only feeling more nervous as the warmth from her boyfriend's hand caressed her trembling one. She took a deep breath. "When I first joined SHIELD I thought I was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA."_

 _Steve listened in silence._

 _Her tone was laced with sadness and regret. "I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but... I guess I can't tell the difference anymore." She put up a sad smile._

 _But she didn't need to look so strong. Steve could see right through her, his eyes glancing down to her trembling hand, noticing the way her voice break, and the complete dullness of her eyes. She looked vulnerable as she is, and he wanted to show her that it's okay. That's he's here for her no matter what._

 _"There's a chance you might be in the wrong business." Steve repeated her words back to her, his voice was all but sincere and filled with assurance._

 _It worked. She smiled lightly._

 _He smiled back._

 _"I owe you, Steve." she said quietly, remembering that he was the reason why she was practically alive and breathing right now._

 _He shook his head. "No, it's okay. I made a promise that I would protect you right?"_

 _Sadness was evident in her features as she spoke, "Now that you know everything about SHIELD is a lie. Sooner or later, we have to tell the world the truth about it." she stated. "Their files... and..."_

 _Steve was unsure of where she was getting at. "Uh... that's most likely to happen. Why? Is there... something wrong?"_

 _Natasha swallowed a lump in her throat._

 _Immediately, realization dawned on the captain's features. His confusion immediately turned into something of an understanding. He knew what she was so troubled about. "Look, Nat..."_

 _"It's okay, Steve." she intervened. "I knew that eventually, this would happen. Secrets would come out no matter what you do. It just so happens for mine to be one of those dirty little ones that SHIELD has."_

 _He sighed, hanging his head low. "I'm sorry you have to go through this."_

 _"But that's not what I'm worried about."_

 _His ears perked up at this as he looked at her, perplexed. "Then what?"_

 _Natasha bit her lip, her eyes were slightly glistening. "I'm afraid of you knowing those secrets."_

 _Steve was shocked at her conclusion._

 _"I have a dark past, Steve. It's not exactly a fairy tale fit for a princess. If anything at all, I'm the bad guy of the story. Natasha Romanoff is a mess. Her past is her permanent scars. So, I'm giving you a chance, Steve. I don't blame you if you want to leave now. You're too good for me and I knew that right from the very start that I don't deserve you. But believe me when I say whatever this is between us isn't a lie. It was and never is a lie. I love_ —"

 _Natasha's voice immediately died down when she felt Steve took hexr in his arms. She felt his bigger frame enveloped her petite body, with her face buried in his shoulder and strong arms wrapped around her. Her heart continued to thump louder and louder._

 _"Are you really that desperate to get rid of me?" he murmured._ _His eyes held so much passion and love. What any girl would die for just to get a guy to feel for them the way he felt for Natasha._

 _He felt her froze._

 _"Don't think you're getting rid of me that easy, Nat." Steve tried to lighten up the mood. "When I said I love you, it means loving you for whoever you were in the past. And if it weren't for that, you wouldn't be the girl I fell in love with today."_

 _He slightly pulled away to tip her chin upwards and meet his gaze. "Chin up, sweetheart."_

 _His blue eyes locked onto her green ones._

 _He smiled lightly._

 _"Because I'm not going anywhere."_

* * *

The memory came rushing back to him.

Steve had made sure to know Natasha's say in all of these before he attempted to continue with his plan. Well, he loves her; that's why he talked about it with her first.

"She knows." Steve said, responding to Sam's earlier statement.

A nod of understanding came from him. "Then it's settled then. I just want to know what the hell is this Project Insight they're talking about."

"Well, we're cutting it a bit close here. Since we couldn't get any information out of him, let's just use him to bypass the DNA scans and access all of SHIELD's files directly. From there, we can really conclude what's this Insight." he stated.

Then, as quickly as lightning, a loud explosion reached their ears. Steve watched in horror from the side mirror as the car behind them suddenly got hit by an incoming missile.

Sam had apparently seen it too. "What the hell was that?" he exclaimed.

Steve didn't have the time to answer when he heard a thud right above them. The sound was becoming louder and louder until his mind quickly caught on to what was going to happen. His eyes widened. "Get down!" he immediately leaned forward, grabbing Sam's arm to drag him forward. Luckily, his gut proved to be correct when a bullet went straight to both of their headrests instead.

He quickly pulled on the brakes to stop the truck to a halt.

Then the person on top of them suddenly broke through the glass and ripped the steering wheel in front of their faces. "Shit!" Sam cursed.

Steve quickly grabbed his shield, when his body jolted forward when something hard crashed into the back of the truck. The impact was enough to make the truck move on its own. Besides, their truck was a complete fetus compared to the one in the back.

Thinking fast, the captain gave the door a few grudges before grabbing Sam. "Hang on!" he yelled, giving one last push, making the door completely fall off. Taking Sam with him, they slid across the highway. Once it came to a stop, he immediately stood up and took his shield in his arm.

"Watch out!" he pushed Sam out of the way when a fire was aimed at them. Whatever gun they used, it was strong enough to send the captain flying off from the bridge and crash onto a bus below.

He groaned. Losing feeling in his back, arms, and legs. Everything ached badly. The glass had somehow cut his face but he would have to deal with that later. He struggled to stand up, prompting the other people in the bus to leave immediately.

Then multiple shots suddenly came firing all at once. As swiftly as possible, he crashed through the other end of the bus and grabbed his shield to take cover. He couldn't exactly step a foot forward when the impact was too strong, but Steve, being the clever and tactic soldier that he is, thought to use his shield to fling back the shots against the men until it left only one.

It was enough for him to come bolting his way. Leaping on top of the car for good footing and tumbling forward to knock him down.

Once the coast was clear, he made sure to check out on Sam. Fortunately, he was still in good shape. Steve rushed to get up the bridge once more, avoiding the missiles while heading straight for their truck.

The second he faced the compartment, and just as he had assumed, Alexander Pierce was nowhere to be found.

He let out a sigh of frustration. Sam came his way and noticed his look. "He's gone?"

"SHIELD took him back. They certainly got us there." Steve grumbled, looking around to see if there were any traces of them left. "Nothing. There's nothing else here."

"Steve, look, we've been set up. Someone must have known our whereabouts when we took Pierce with us." Sam asserted.

His fists were clenched together. "Son of a bitch." he gritted his teeth.

"Just call Natasha to tell Fury about this. Tell them this whole mission was practically a mole hunt." The frustration was also noticeable in the black main's tone. His gaze hardening.

As he was told, Steve took out his phone and quickly dialed up her number. It was a handy thing that Natasha taught him how to use a phone.

 _Ring... ring... ring..._

He waited in anticipation until she picked it on the fourth ring.

"Nat? I need your help. Is Fury there? SHIELD just got our work cut out for us. It was nothing but a setup." Steve spoke hardly, but when he received nothing in response, his eyebrows furrowed. "Nat?"

No answer.

"Nat? Are you okay?"

Then a screech was heard.

Followed by a muffled voice; glass breaking; a hard object trashing in the background.

Steve felt his breath hitched in his throat as he listened to it in horror. His heart pounding more loudly than ever as he thought of the worst possible scenario. "Nat!?" he yelled through the phone.

Sam jumped at the sudden rise in the captain's tone. From the way he gripped the phone so tightly; almost crushing it; things weren't going so well.

"Nat what are you—"

Then the line went dead.

His eyes widened in horror. He fumbled for his phone, dialing her number once more but became even more agitated when her phone was disabled.

"Dammit." he muttered under his breath, deciding to call Maria instead.

She answered on the second ring. _"Captain?"_

"Maria. I need to talk to Natasha." he stated.

 _"Uh... she went out to get some lunch—"_

Steve felt his blood boil. "You let her out just to buy some _food_?" he demanded.

 _"Fury let her out. She insisted on her own, and just for the record Steve, she's locked in here for almost a day now."_

"Look, her line went dead and when I tried to call her again, she wasn't answering." Steve informed. "Do you have any idea where she could be?"

 _"Wait... I'll breach Fury about this. Try the nearest convenience store downtown. Just across the building with the gold doors. In the meantime, I'll call you once we track her phone down."_

"Thanks, Maria."

* * *

The second they arrived in the store, Steve got out of the car and slammed the door shut. He practically leaped for the doors and pushed it open. He jerked his head sideways while trying to find a glimpse of a redhead.

To no luck.

He sighed exasperatedly, "She's not here."

Sam tried peering through the aisles. "Maybe we missed her. Try calling Maria again."

Just when Steve reached for his phone, he felt relief flood his chest when it lit up to reveal the caller id to be Natasha. He quickly pressed the green button.

"Natasha?" he asked. "Where are you _—"_

 _"You can always tell someone's character by the way they treat those they don't need to treat well."_

He felt his rage crawling up the back of his neck as his eyes were filled with nothing but vengeance and fury. He gripped the phone tighter. All relief in his chest quickly dissolved into anger.

Steve's nostrils flared. "If you hurt her I swear _—"_

 _"Don't threaten me. Just don't."_ Pierce warned, not caring a damn about what he was trying to say. _"That flash drive I picked up from the Triskelion, the one you took from us? Contains the algorithm I need to launch Project Insight. You're going to get it and bring it to me. The algorithm. Captain, you had a watch the last time I saw you. You have 48 hours starting on my mark."_

"Wait, wait _—"_

 _"Now call me at this number when you have it."_

"Just wait—"

 _"Natasha's life for the algorithm. You have 48 hours or she dies."_

"Wait, wait, wait!" Steve rambled on, attempting to slow him down.

When Pierce hung up.

As if on perfect timing, the police and the other SHIELD agents managed to track him down. One that he recognized as Brock Rumlow, pointed a rifle at him, his expression clearly annoyed. "Get down!" he shouted.

"What?" he questioned, bemused.

"Condition 1-116. All units on the scene." he said through his transponder.

"Rumlow? What the hell is this?" Steve asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Sorry, Cap." he said nonchalantly. "We were told to bring you in."

"By who?" he demanded.

"By Alexander Pierce."

 _Great. Just perfect._

He was getting arrested for a crime he did not commit while his girlfriend's life is basically hanging on the line. With the 48 hours running so swiftly, Steve knew he needed to get out of this as soon as he could.

 _Or he might lose the one thing that mattered to him the most._

* * *

 ** _reviews please?_**


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